Stillman's Dream Run Ended by Alabama-Huntsville

For a while, it looked as if Stillman's dream run in the NCAA Division II tournament might continue as the Tigers held a 43-42 halfttime edge against regional host Alabama-Huntsville Tuesday night. Alas, the Chargers proved too much, overcoming Stillman and eventually holding on for an 88-81 victory in a Sweet 16 matchup at Spragins Hall.

Alabama-Huntsville (29-4) will now take on Minnesota State-Mankato in the Elite 8. Stillman (25-8), which began its run in the tournament by upending heavily-favored second-seeded Harding and then defeated Florida Southern, began this game on a similar high note. The Tigers took...

Stillman Tigers Enter Sweet 16

Huntsville, AL-- Stillman reached yet another milestone with a win over the Florida Southern Moccasins 92-86 and advanced to the NCAA DII South Region final for the first time in school’s history in Spragins Hall at the University of Alabama campus.

The Tigers trailed 38-51 at the half. Following the half, the Tigers overcame a 13-point deficit to tie the game 56-56 at the 14:43 mark. Both teams exchanged baskets and enjoyed the lead until the 5:31 mark when junior LaDarius Rhone made a 3-points basket and the Tigers went ahead for the last time and held it to the end of regulation.

LaJay Sears led the Tigers with 31 points on 10-20 shooting from the field and 7-8 from the free-throw line. Sears was followed by Kevin Johnson and Lee Riley both with 16 points. LaDarius Rhone chipped in 14 points. Rakee Anderson, despite not having a great shooting performance, added a game-high 11 assists.

NCAA South Regional: 'Special journey' for UAHuntsville continues next week at the Elite Eight

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Josh Magette, who typically holds the basketball game in his hands, was at the moment holding a thin strand of twine in his right hand. It was a piece of a basketball net, surgically removed Tuesday night in the middle of the warmest, loudest, lovingest, darndest bit of celebration and history this building has seen.

"You can't dream of something like this," said Magette, the UAH point guard. A couple of weeks ago, he had collected another piece of twine, from UAH's official coronation as Gulf South Conference East Division champion.

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Stillman Tigers advance after Rhone’s late basket in overtime

Stillman College Athletics Director Curtis Campbell

HUNTSVILLE, AL | Following his coach’s instructions, Ladarius Rhone crashed the boards to help the Stillman Tigers advance in the NCAA Division II South Regional. Rhone grabbed an offensive rebound and made a putback shot, and the No. 7-seeded Tigers edged No. 2 Harding University 87-86 in overtime on Saturday.

Stillman plays Florida Southern in the semifinals today at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. The championship game will be at 7:30 on Tuesday. Florida Southern defeated Rollins 76-74 on a 3-pointer by Dominic Lane with 2 seconds left.

Harding (25-5) took an 86-85 lead when Kevin Brown converted a 3-point play with 12.4 seconds remaining. Rhone, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward, scored after senior point guard Rakee Anderson missed on a drive to the basket.

Harding Bison Fall in Overtime at NCAA Tournament

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Stillman forward Ladarius Rhone recovered a loose ball in the paint and laid it in with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Tigers an 87-86 victory over Harding in the quarterfinals of the NCAA II South Region Tournament on Saturday at Spragins Hall.

Harding (25-5) had taken the lead with 14 seconds left when senior forward Kevin Brown converted a 3-point play to give Harding an 86-85 lead. It was the 18th lead change in the game.

Stillman guard Rakee Anderson took the ball to the basket on the last possession but had his shot blocked by Stephen Blake. Rhone grabbed the rebound and scored only his third shot in seven attempts to win it.

“We made them take an incredibly tough shot,” said Harding head coach Jeff Morgan. “We just did not do a good job of grabbing the backside rebound. That hurt us a couple of times in the game.”

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Stillman to take on Harding in first round of Division II playoffs

TUSCALOOSA - The Stillman College men's basketball team may have been disappointed with its last loss, but the Tigers get to play again.

Coach Michael Grant's Tigers were selected as an at-large team for the NCAA Division II playoffs. Stillman (22-7) plays Harding University from Arkansas (25-4) on Saturday at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Stillman is the No. 7 seed. Harding is the No. 2 seed. If the Tigers can win three games, they will advance to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., the city where James Naismith invented basketball.

Grant directed the Tigers to seven wins in his first season, and 18 last year.

Stillman Tigers Basketball goes dancing

Indianapolis, IN -  The NCAA Division II announced the 2011 Tournament Bracket and the Stillman Tigers received an at-large bid. The Tigers finished the regular season ranked 8th in the southern region. The Tigers fell one game short of winning their first conference championship in five years. Stillman will not have far to travel to compete. The host school for the Southern Regional is the University of Alabama-Huntsville. “Because it’s not that far travel, the players will have time to get plenty of rest,” said head coach Michael Grant.

Stillman was one of three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) teams to make the Tournament. The other schools were Benedict College of Columbia, South Carolina, the regular season winner and Clark-Atlanta University of Atlanta, Ga., the conference champion. The Tigers came in second to both teams. Also making the Tournament for the women was the Fort Valley State University of Fort Valley, Ga.

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Stillman continues dominance in SIAC

TUSCALOOSA, AL | Currently at the top of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Stillman College men’s basketball team proved why when it took on the Claflin University Panthers on Monday. The Tigers beat the Panthers on Senior Night, 62-55.

“We really played together as a team tonight,” Stillman coach Michael Grant said. “We did a pretty good job of taking care of the basketball, we just really took our time and then we hit our open shots. Any time you can get hit your open shots and hit your free throws, you have a shot and that’s what we did tonight.”

After a slow start where both teams remained scoreless for the first five minutes, Claflin scored first with a basket by senior center Efe Uwadiae. Stillman (17-5, 15-4 in SIAC) answered back a just 35 seconds later on a field goal by Tiger senior guard Rakee Anderson.

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Ravens' Harewood a long way from home

OWINGS MILLS, MD - Ramon Harewood was ambling through a college fair in his native Barbados six years ago as a high school senior, pondering his future when he was discovered by Atlanta track and field coach Michael Grant.

The chance meeting between a towering, hulking teenager and Grant ultimately created a historic path that guided Harewood to the Baltimore Ravens as the first player from Barbados to reach the NFL.

Harewood had the brain of a rocket scientist and a body frame that approached the height and bulk of former Ravens tackle Orlando Brown. "I'm looking at him from a recruiting standpoint, going, ‘Oh my God,'" Grant said. Grant couldn't believe his eyes.

Harewood was academically gifted with a 1370 SAT score. He was 6-foot-6 and well over 300 pounds. And the young man was athletic enough to excel on junior national teams in rugby, track and field, and volleyball. He also played a mean game of cricket.

Grant went to work on Harewood, convincing him to enroll at Morehouse after he first attended the University of West Indies. "He saw me at a rugby game and some track meets and was like, ‘Dude, I'm telling you, you need to be overseas playing sports," Harewood said.



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